δεῖ: G1163
It is necessary, one must; expressing divine necessity, logical compulsion, or moral obligation; also what is proper or fitting
Few Greek words carry as much theological weight in so few letters. Dei is an impersonal verb declaring that something must be so — and in the Gospels, that 'must' often signals divine plan. Jesus repeatedly says the Son of Man 'must' suffer, die, and rise (Matt 16:21; Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22), and apocalyptic events 'must' take place before the end (Matt 24:6). The translations reveal the modal force clearly: French il faut, Spanish es necesario, German muss — each capturing the impersonal compulsion. In a handful of cases the force softens from strict necessity to propriety: what 'ought' to be or what is 'fitting' (1 Tim 5:13).
2. proper, fitting, ought — What is proper, fitting, or appropriate — expressing propriety or social-moral obligation rather than strict compulsion or divine plan. At Mark 13:14, the parenthetical 'let the reader understand' implies what the reader 'should' grasp, and 1 Tim 5:13 describes behaviors that are not 'proper' for believing women. English translations shift to 'ought' or 'proper' (versus the stronger 'must'), and Spanish debe and German muessen soften accordingly, distinguishing this lighter obligatory sense from the weightier divine necessity of Sense 1. 2×
AR["يَجِبُ","يَنْبَغِي"]·ben["উচিত","উচিত।"]·DE["muessen"]·EN["it-should","proper"]·FR["il-faut"]·heb["צְרִיךְ","צָרִיךְ"]·HI["उचित-है","उछित"]·ID["seharusnya","yang-sepatutnya"]·IT["bisognare"]·jav["pantes.","samestènipun"]·KO["되는","해야-할-것들을."]·PT["convenientes","deve"]·RU["должно","подобающее"]·ES["debe","debidas"]·SW["hapaswi","yofaa"]·TR["gereken","gerekli"]·urd["مناسب۔","چاہیے"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
1. it is necessary, must — Impersonal expression of necessity — divine, logical, or moral — meaning 'it is necessary,' 'one must,' or 'it is inevitable.' Central to the Synoptic passion predictions where Jesus declares the Son of Man 'must' suffer (Matt 16:21; Mark 8:31), and to eschatological discourse where wars 'must' occur (Matt 24:6). Also covers practical necessity (Acts 5:29, 'we must obey God'). Translations converge on strong modal forms (fra: il faut, spa: es necesario, deu: muss) across 102 occurrences, confirming the impersonal compulsive force. 102×
AR["يَجِبُ","يَنبَغي","يَنْبَغي","يَنْبَغِي"]·ben["অবশ্যই","আবশ্যক","উচিত","দরকার","প্রয়োজন","হতে-হবে"]·DE["muessen","muss"]·EN["it-is-necessary","it-must","must"]·FR["il-faut"]·heb["חַיָּב","צָרִיךְ"]·HI["अवश्य","अवश्य-है","आवश्यक-है","चाहिए","ज़रुरि-है"]·ID["harus"]·IT["bisognare"]·jav["kedah","kedah,"]·KO["되어야-한다","마땅하다","마땅히","필요하다","해야-한다"]·PT["é-necessário"]·RU["должно","должно,","надлежит","нужно"]·ES["es-necesario"]·SW["inabidi","inanipasa","itokee","lazima","ni-lazima","yapasa","yapasayo"]·TR["gerek","gereken","gerekir","gerekiyor","gerekli","gereklidir"]·urd["ضرور","ضرور-ہے","ضروری-ہے","ضروری-ہے-"]
Matt 16:21, Matt 17:10, Matt 24:6, Matt 26:54, Mark 8:31, Mark 9:11, Mark 13:7, Mark 13:10, Luke 2:49, Luke 4:43, Luke 12:12, Luke 13:14 (+38 more)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
δεῖ: subjunctive δέη, sometimes contraction δῆ (in codices of Comedy texts, as Refs 5th c.BC+; ὁπόσου κα δῆ Refs 5th c.BC+; infinitive δεῖ; participle δέον (see. infr. IV): imperfect ἔδει, Ionic dialect ἔδεε: future δεήσει Refs 5th c.BC+: aorist I ἐδέησε Refs 5th c.BC+ —Impers. from δέω (A), there is need (the sense of moral obligation, properly belonging to χρή, is later, Refs 5th c.BC+ __I…